


Vanitas and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

by greeneggs101



Series: Unversed in Emotion [3]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, Just Add Kittens, Vanitas centric, bad day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2018-09-27
Packaged: 2019-07-18 02:59:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16109390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greeneggs101/pseuds/greeneggs101
Summary: Several things have already gone wrong that day for Vanitas. He woke up with a headache, the ice cream machine stopped working, and now this lady is yelling at him. Vanitas does not appreciate any of this.He has enough problems keeping the Unversed under control without bad days getting into the mix....





	Vanitas and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [littleskyangel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleskyangel/gifts).



> Gift fic for littleskyangel for correctly guessing the song inspiration behind the title of my other Vanitas-Centric fic "The Difference In Between." They requested:
> 
>  
> 
> _Anyways, I have an idea for my request if you don't mind! I'd like it to be Vanitas centered (because we all love our emo hedgehog boy) with Sora and Riku of the main ensemble of Kingdom Hearts making an appearance one way or another. The prompt is (drumroll please) "Vanitas and the Terribly Terrible Day at Work."_  
>  Bonus points for:  
> \+ Vanitas slips and falls in the most fantastically fantastic way right in front of everyone  
> \+ Someone spills a drink/food product on him  
> \+ Vanitas gets chewed out by a customer and/or manager  
> +Vanitas pets a kitty
> 
>  
> 
> Hope you enjoy! 
> 
> (PS I wrote this after spending a lot of time within my "Difference In Between" AU which is all first person, and this is third person. So, my point is... I kept switching POV's midway through sentences. I think I caught all of the stray first person POV's but if I didn't, just let me know!)

It wasn’t  _ technically _ the worst day of Vanitas’s life. 

 

The honor distinctly went to the day Xehanort decided that he and Ven would be better off as two seperate people and ripped him from Ven’s heart. 

 

But, as the annoying brunet would say, no where else to go but up, right? 

 

Unfortunately, ‘up’ could also have some low points. Like today. 

 

“I asked for a large scoop of the Fabracadabra double crunch!” The woman screeched, “This is clearly just the single crunch!”

 

_ What’s the difference _ ? Vanitas wondered, wishing he could call on his keyblade to rid Twilight Town of at least one annoying resident. That should totally count as community service. Ridding any town of its most annoying residents is a service to any community. 

 

But no. Instead he tried to suppress his emotions ( literally), and gave his best fake grin, the one modeled after Sora’s. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I scooped what you pointed out.”

 

“Well you should have known what I wanted!” The woman shoved the ice cream back, “I won’t be paying for this and I expect my order to be compensated!! Or I will be speaking with your manager!” 

 

“I’m not a mind reader,” Vanitas muttered dryly even as he pulled the lady’s ice cream away. 

 

“What was that?!” The woman screeched again, and Vanitas winced. 

 

“I will get that for you right away, but you’ll have to talk with one of the managers about getting compensated...”  _ And they were trained well by their Uncle Scrooge, so I wouldn’t count on it...  _ Vanitas sighed, calling for Louie in the back room, then mixing up a different order for the woman who was still fuming. Vanitas could just picture her as one of the Red Hot Chili unversed, complete with steam blowing off her lid.

 

He had to turn to hide his chuckles, knowing that it wouldn’t help Louis who was trying to calm the woman’s temper. She didn’t look too thrilled at getting scolded by a duck though so it was possible no one would win today. 

 

As he turned to hand the woman her new ice cream, Vanitas tried to school his expression, wishing that he still had his mask for things like this. His face still wasn’t used to feigning emotion, or hiding it. So it tended to reveal more than Vanitas wanted it to. 

 

_ In some ways, it seemed my face gives away more than the unversed did.  _

 

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t hire such miscreants at your storm!” The woman shouted, hands flying into the air. “Young people just don’t know how well off they are!” Finishing her tirade, she ripped the ice cream from Vanitas’s hand and stalked off. 

 

The darker haired boy sighed sighed, and Louie looked up at him in sympathy. 

 

“I do too know how well I got it...” Vanitas muttered.

 

“Ahh... you can’t let her get to you Van,” Louis reassured, “She just doesn’t know good ice cream when it’s in her hands!”

 

Another sigh escaped, and with it, a Mandrake popped out of his shadow. Vanitas stared at it, a feeling of dread passing over him. The Mandrake sunk below the ground, twisting its body, and its leaves extending. 

 

“Shit...” Vanitas let out, “Louie! Look out!”

 

Luckily, Louie had already jumped up onto the countertop, just as the Mandrake let a leaf cutter. Cups and lids crashed to the ground as the sharp wind made contact. The plant like unversed squeaked and start to wind up again, but this time Vanitas was ready, darting in front of it and taking the leaf cutter right to the chest. A grunt escaped his throat, and he could just feel a flood or two rumble beneath his skin. Quickly, he nabbed up the Mandrake. “I just gotta--”

 

“Go! Go!” Louie motioned toward the back door, towards the freezer and Vanitas ran. 

 

The little plant let out a little shiver and Vanitas felt his stomach lurch and his face heat up as he was Poisoned, “Ugh really?” He groaned, setting the Mandrake on the ground and clutching his stomach, hoping to hold it together for a little longer. “C’mon, little guy, I know you’re nervous.” _ Because I’m nervous... _ “But you can’t go around poisoning people...”

 

The Mandrake shivered again and used its leaves to hover a bit. 

 

“Yes, I know the scary lady was wrong. But we can’t push everyone away just cause of that..” Vanitas sat down next to the Mandrake, who finally stopped hovering to slump down next to him. 

 

What now?

 

Vanitas tried to will the Mandrake away, squeezing his eyes shut with the effort. It worked sometimes. If he could just wish for the Unversed to disappear then...

 

The Mandrake squeaked and Vanitas snuck one eye open. Was there an echo?

 

No... but there were  _ two _ Mandrakes. Both shivering and slumping and looking like they were getting ready for another Poison attack. 

 

Vanitas batted at them with a hand, “Oh no, you dont!”

 

Too late. 

 

He flinched as he felt another Poison attack take hold, his stomach cramping and his face growing hotter. He glared at the plants, feeling dizzy as he did so.  _ Dammit... _

 

He didn’t  _ think _ about it, but unfortunately, no one ever really  _ thinks _ about their emotions. Vanitas could only watch as a Flood emerged from his shadow, dove into the ground and escaped under the back door. The mandrakes looked like they wanted to follow. 

 

_ Great, now I’ll have to go chase it down... _

 

He felt another Flood try to escape and he clamped down on that emotion. Taking several deep breaths, he tried to let go of the irritation. 

 

_ Dammit _ . Ven didn’t have to deal with this! He didn’t have some sort of happy unversed popping out at the least convenient times. They’d probably look like puppies or something stupid. 

 

Another Flood popped out. And under the door it went. 

 

_ Dammit _ . 

 

“Vanitas!” Dewey called out, “We could really use your help out here!”

 

_ Dammit! _

 

Another flood. 

 

Vanitas clamped his eyes shut. What was it Riku advised? To take deep breaths? Vanitas tried. He really did. In...out... in...out.... 

 

The Mandrakes squeaked again. 

 

His nails cut into his skin with how tight he was clenching his fist. 

 

Deep breaths. Deep breaths. 

 

What did Ven say again? To try... thinking through his emotions? To figure out what made him so irritated or sad or angry and see if that worked to reabsorb the unversed. 

 

Right...

 

So... he was irritated with the woman. But... a flood didn’t turn up, a mandrake did. So... he was... nervous around the woman? Anxious? Embarrassed?

 

Not really about the woman though, was it. Just... what she had said. About not knowing how good he had it. 

 

But he did know. Roxas and Aqua made sure to remind him every chance they got. Roxas in his blunt way, and Aqua in her ‘trying to be nice but still kinda paranoid’ way. He even knew that he, and a majority of the other seekers of darkness, got off relatively easy with Sora’s suggestion of community service rather than some form of prison or banishment. In the brunet’s mind, those who had been possessed by Xehanort couldn’t really be held fully accountable for their actions. 

 

It wasn’t really that true. Afterall, Braig and Vanitas both were very,  _ very _ well aware of what they were doing, but if it made Sora feel better, no one really wanted to contradict him. 

 

He was just way too nice and friendly. 

 

He was even lucky that Huey, Dewey, and Louie offered to let him work off his community service helping them set up their new ice cream store in Twilight Town. It was a relatively easy job, and he enjoyed helping the ducks come up with new flavors. 

 

After a moment, Vanitas realized that the Mandrakes had stopped squeaking. Chancing a look, he opened one of his eyes, finding the back room empty. 

 

Were they reabsorbed? Or did the just warp elsewhere?

 

“Vanitas?” Huey called. 

 

Right... he couldn’t think about that right now. He’d deal with the Floods later. Instead he took another deep breath and walked towards the door, stopping only to grab a box of cups and lids to replace the ones the Mandrake had spilled earlier. 

 

There was a line extending out the door, a lot of people eager to escape the summer heat with a bite of ice cream. Though Sea Salt was still a perennial favorite in town, many wanted to try Huey, Dewey and Louie’s new ice cream flavors, so the store was packed in the afternoon. 

 

Vanitas hated the afternoon rush. 

 

_ People _ .

 

“Sorry...” Vanitas muttered, “I just...”

 

“It’s fine!” Louie assured, “Can you just brings those outside?” He pointed to  tray filled with ice cream and shakes, “It goes to Sora and the rest.”

 

_ Great. _

 

But Vanitas nodded anyway and picked the tray up. It wasn’t heavy for him, but a little awkward and he scooted around the line that had formed in the doorway and made his way outside. 

 

He heard Sora before he spotted him, laugh echoing across the outside eating area. Riku was with him, as was Ven and Kairi. 

 

_ Even better... _

 

Vanitas took another deep breath, releasing it before starting to walk over. Ven spotted him and waved, and the darker haired boy offered a shaky grimace back. 

 

_ “Rrawwer!”  _

 

There was yowl from down the nearby alleyway, then Vanitas saw two dark blurs race towards his feet. One he vaguely recognized as a Flood, the other a cat possibly. 

 

Unfortunately, Vanitas wasn’t able to get a better look as they soon intertwined themselves around his legs, the Flood scratching and the cat hissing and batting with sharp claws. The platter shook and shifted as the darker haired boy tried to regain his footing while also trying not to step on either creature. 

 

Then a second Flood emerged from the alleyway and joined the fray. 

 

Between one moment and the next, there was a loud crash as Vanitas tumbled to the ground. 

 

“Vanitas?!” He heard Ven shout, echoed by Sora. 

 

The darker haired boy groaned and tried to stand. His hair felt cold and wet, his pants leg not much better. He heard yowling and hissing as the Floods ran off, followed by the cat. 

 

“Van...”

 

Smaller hands grabbed at his shoulders, trying to help him up. 

 

“I’m fine... I’m fine!” Vanitas flinched away from the hands and stood. He felt something slide down his face and landed with a wet  _ slop! _ on the ground. 

 

He chanced a look to his feet where someone’s ice cream was now melting. Another splotch of ice cream was melting through his pants, his thigh going numb with the cold. The hoodie he had borrowed from Sora was stained with ice cream as well. 

 

“Are you alright, Vanitas?” 

 

“I’m said I’m fine!” Vanitas shouted, glaring at Kairi who had asked. 

 

She flinched, but stood her ground, even as Riku tried to step in front of her, hand raised, as if getting ready to call his keyblade. 

 

Vanitas didn’t even have to look to know that his outburst had caused another unversed to form. Probably another Flood, or maybe a Red Hot Chili. He glared at all of them, then at the ice cream still melting at his feet. 

 

It wasn’t fair. He was trying. It just wasn’t  _ fair _ . 

 

To his horror, he found that his eyes were burning, up, and a warm wet trail of tears started to make their way down his cheeks. 

 

He heard a scuffling behind him and he turned, not caring if it caused him pain, he’d get rid of the stupid unversed if it killed him!

 

He expected another Flood, or a whole wave of them. Or maybe a flock of red hot chilis. 

 

He did not expect the Hareraiser. 

 

The little bunny shook, making sounds like it was trying to hold back its own tears. Vanitas paused, the leg he had raised to kick the damn thing lowering to the ground as he stared at it. 

 

_ Fear _ ?

 

_ Is... is that what he was feeling? _

 

He took a step closer and the Hairaiser shook before lashing out with its ears. Vanitas barely felt the blows before he bent down, scooping the bunny into his arms, and then walked off. 

 

He heard Ven and the rest shouting behind him, and he thought he heard Sora’s footsteps to catch up before they stopped suddenly. Probably Riku telling him to just leave the monster alone. 

 

The bunny shook again. 

 

Vanitas walked all the way around town Till the ice cream completely melted and caused his hair to stick to his face, and his pants start chafing where they rubbed against his thigh. Vanitas didn’t notice or care though, the little bunny still shaking in his arms while the boy kept walking. 

 

Finally, the summer heat gave way to a thunderstorm, the skies opening up to a downpour. 

 

_ Well _ , Vanitas thought, _ At least I don’t have to worry about washing my hair now.  _

 

It wasn’t the best solution, but the hard rain did get rid of most of the ice cream. Now his hair was just plastered to his head. 

 

Like it was back in the mask. 

 

Vanitas let out a deep sigh, leaning against the brick wall to one of the many stores in Twilight Town. Around him, the orangy brown and red bricks were deepening to a dark muddy color, and the metal trolley tracks glistened, then disappeared as they filled with water. 

 

The Hairaiser burrowed close, then seemed to decide that it being scared wasn’t worth getting wet over and vanished back into Vanitas’s shadow. The darker haired boy felt some of the echoing fear from the bunny, but it was soon numbed out by the rainfall. 

 

He leaned his head against the brick, letting the drops fall onto his face as he closed his eyes. 

 

He’d have to go back eventually. If only to return Sora’s, now likely ruined, hoodie. 

 

He wasn’t looking forward to it. 

 

He felt the rain stop suddenly, though he could still hear it hitting the bricks around him. 

 

“Bad day?”

 

Vanitas gritted his teeth.  _ Riku _ ... didn’t that white haired know-it-all have anyone else to bother? The darker haired boy growled, glaring up at the boy holding a large yellow umbrella. “Don’t you--”

 

Wait... when did Riku’s hair grow out?

 

_ Oh _ ...  _ Other _ Riku...

 

The slightly younger version of the irritating Riku started to laugh as Vanitas cut himself off from the scathing remark he had nearly shouted. Vanitas huffed and looked away. “Shut up...”

 

“Sorry... The look on your face when you realized you were shouting at the wrong Riku...”

 

Vanitas glared and didn’t say anything back. After a moment, the Replica sat down next to him shifting the umbrella so it covered them both. 

 

“So... bad day?”

 

“Did Sora and the others tell you?” Vanitas huffed

 

“Not exactly...” the Replica trailed off and Vanitas looked over curiously. 

 

Pale fingers struggled to hold the umbrella up right while they unzipped the black jacket the Replica had borrowed from the annoying Riku. As the zipper slid down two faces poked out. 

 

Unversed faces. 

 

“So that’s where you two ran off to...” Vanitas glared at the Floods who shuddered and scratched at the Replica’s chest. To the white haired boy’s credit, he barely flinched and instead petted their heads with his free hand. 

 

“Yeah... O’Malley brought them in the house. Probably thought they were some kind of odd kitten. They seemed to like getting babied by Duchess...”

 

“Duchess?” 

 

“Oh... the mama cat of the lady I’m helping out for my community service. Madam Adelaide? I’m helping her inventory all of her possessions at her Twilight Town house. And a few other odd jobs like fixing creaky doors and cabinets. But she has this family of cats...”

 

“Uh huh...” Vanitas didn’t really get it. 

 

“Anyway...” the silver haired boy sighed and pulled the jacket down farther till one of the Floods crawled out and over to Vanitas’s lap. The other stayed put, evidently content to have its irritation subdued by the Replica’s gentle hands. 

 

Vanitas huffed and tried to duplicate the other boy’s petting motions. He felt the Flood’s tremors and irritably that existed just under the the Unversed’s skin start to slow and reside. He glanced over where the second Flood had burrowed itself into the Replica’s shirt, evidently drifting off to sleep. 

 

“Hmm...” pale lips widened into a small grin. “So... you wanna talk about it?”

 

“What’s there to talk about?” Vanitas huffed, the Flood in his arms shifting with the darker haired boy’s irritation at the question. 

 

“Well... from what I’ve seen, you’ve been doing pretty good in keeping these guys suppressed. So... it must have been some day for you to let go of that control...”

 

“Maybe I just wanted to revert back to how I used to be...” Vanitas muttered. 

 

“Maybe...” the Replica agreed, then waited patiently for an actual answer. 

 

The darker haired boy huffed and shifted before finally relenting. “Woke up with a bit of a headache... then the ice cream machine broke down in the middle of making Sea Salt, so we were out of that flavor all day...”

 

“I can see that going over well...” The tone was dry but not condescending.

 

“Yeah... no kidding...” Vanitas looked back at the Flood, “Then this lady comes in, and I swear she points at the Fabracadabra and she kept calling it something different, but I was tired and she was already annoying so I just scooped her the Fabracadabra. She watched me do it. But then she started yelling at me saying I had gotten her the wrong ice cream.” 

 

“What the f--”

 

“Yeah...So then Louie comes out to handle it but then she says something along the lines of how I’ll never be grateful for what I have and I just...” Vanitas sighed, “A Mandrake got loose...”

 

“Ah... and Mandrakes embody...?”

 

“Embarrassment... Anxiety... Overwhelmed...” Vanitas shrugged. “They tend to burrow and keep people as far away as possible... and then they Poison or Confuse you if you get to close, and they don’t care if it’s me or someone else... so I had to take it to the back room. But then another one popped up and...” Vanitas pulled his feet in, his knees cradling the unversed to his chest. “I dunno if they went back or if they warped somewhere else. I suppose I’ll just get yelled at for it later. Then these two showed up and...” He trailed off, shaking his head. 

 

“So it’s just been that kind of day...”

 

“Yeah... and that’s not even counting when the ice cream spilled on me.”

 

“Oh...is that why your hair is kinda--”

 

“Sticky? Yeah...” 

 

“Ahh...” the Replica sighed then stood up. With a shock, Vanitas realized that it had stopped raining. Then he noticed that the Replica’s arms were now lacking a Flood. Glancing down in his own arms, Vanitas found that he was mostly just petting black smoke as the Flood reabsorbed into his body. 

 

It was strange though, even when the Unversed was reabsorbed naturally, he usually felt some sort of echo of the emotion they represented. But this time... nothing... as if the unversed faded rather than got reabsorbed. 

 

Strange. 

 

“I think you could still use some cheering up,” the Replica stated, then held out a pale hand.

 

Vanitas stared at it for a moment before taking it, letting the other boy pull him off the ground. “How do you think you’re gonna accomplish that?”

 

“I have some ideas...” a grin crossed his pale face, “Come on!”

 

Still skeptical, but not having anything else to do (unless he wanted to go back to the ice cream shop, which... no...) he followed the white haired boy down the street and then crossed over into a nicer part of town. Soon they were walking up the steps of a large corner-lot townhouse, three stories with large windows and a grand porch. Vanitas was vaguely reminded of some of the homes in the Village near the Castle of Dreams. 

 

The Replica walked up to the front door, knocking without hesitation. After a moment a tall older lady opened it, offering the boys a wide grin. 

 

“Oh, my Dear, I thought you were done for the day...”

 

“Yeah... but then I ran into my friend. He had a bad day and could use some cheering up, can we--”

 

“Oh they love cheering up visitors!” The older lady opened the door wider. “Now, does your friend have a name, or--”

 

“Oh... yeah, he was named.” The Replica offered a grin and pointed to me, “This is Vanitas. He’s doing community service as well.”

 

“How wonderful,” the old lady smiled, “I am Madame Adelaide Bonfamille. Most around here just call me Madam Adelaide.” She gestured towards another room, “They are right in the music room dears. I think you both could use a good cup of tea after that rain.”

 

“Oh I could-” The Replica started to offer, slipping his shoes off, but Madame Adelaide waved him off.

 

“It’s alright dear. I find that I like doing the tea service. I don’t know what Edgar used to complain about so much...” She trailed off as she stepped into what must have been the kitchen. 

 

“Edgar?” Vanitas asked, slipping how own shoes off before the Replica led him to the ‘music room.’ 

 

“Her old butler. He disappeared a while ago...” the silver haired boy shrugged. “I dunno if he was turned into a heartless or just... disappeared. But Madame Adelaide doesn’t care. I think she likes it better that it’s just her and her cats.”

 

“Right...”

 

Suddenly, Vanitas felt something pawing at his foot. Glancing down he saw a small white haired poof trying to chew on his shoe laces. “Hello?”

 

The Replica laughed, “That’s Marie... Toulouse and Berlioz are around here somewhere, but Marie is the bravest, so she’ll come out first.” He leaned down and scooped up the white haired poof. As he stood back up, Vanitas saw a tiny pink nose and blue eyes. Instead of the collars Vanitas had seen on other cats in town, Marie had a bright pink bow. 

 

“Meow.” The kitten batted ad the Replica’s face, then turned to Vanitas, “Mrow!” She tried to bat at Vanitas’s face as well. 

 

“Mew” Twin cries came from the floor and Vanitas glanced down, finding a pair of kittens, one orange and one black, starting to try and climb his legs. He bent down, gently picking up the black one like he had seen the Replica do to Marie. 

 

“That’s Berlioz,” the replica said, “The other is Toulouse...” He turned and headed towards a couch, “C’mon, we can sit down here...”

 

Vanitas suddenly remembered his sticky ice cream covered pants, “I don’t think...”

 

“It’s alright dear.”

 

Vanitas startled at Madame Adelaide’s voice, “Sorry, but I have ice cream on my pants and...”

 

“There’s a reason the couch is in the cat’s music room,” Madame Adelaide pointed out, “Unless you think that cats are tidy creatures all the time...”

 

“Merrow...” another cat answered, a deeper sound than the kitten in Vanitas’s arms. Glancing down, the darker haired boy saw a large orange cat staring up at him. 

 

“You’re the worst of them all, O’Malley.” The old lady grinned and sat down in the chair next to the couch, “Now, sit down dear.”

 

Vanitas sat. Thankfully not on a kitten.

 

Berlioz pawed at his chest until Vanitas began petting him again, much like had done with the flood earlier. Toulouse curled up in the space between himself and the Replica. He glanced over to find the white haired boy petting Marie, the white kitten burrowing herself into his neck till she practically melted into his hair. 

 

Another weight settled onto the couch, Vanitas glanced over to find another white cat licking her paw delicately. 

 

“That’s Duchess,” the Replica said, trying to untangle Marie’s tiny claws from his hair with very little success. “She’s the mama of these three. O’Malley is...” he trailed off.

 

“Oh the kittens and Duchess found O’Malley during the time they were missing.” Madame Adelaide explained, “But he fits right in.” She scratched the male cat on the head and the cat yawned, evidently going to sleep. 

 

“Now,” the older lady began, “What’s all this about a bad day?”

 

Vanitas felt his face redden, but he hurried to clamp down on the itchy feeling that usually came with an unversed appearance. “It’s nothing... I just... didn’t have much luck today at the ice cream shop... Some lady came in and... just made everything worse.” Vanitas sighed, and Berlioz nipped at his fingers till he resumed petting the small kitten. 

 

“Oh, I see...” Madame Adelaide nodded and Vanitas got the impression that she really did understand. “We all have days like that dear. Where nothing seems to go right. Why, I remember when I was in my performance days and I woke up one morning with absolutely no voice at all. Oh, I sounded so hoarse, like I had been shouting from the Parisian rooftops all night...”

 

Vanitas listened to her story, feeling a little bit better knowing that everyone did have days like this. That it wasn’t the end of the world. Berlioz settled down in his lap, curling up around Toulouse who had joined him till they were both sleeping soundly. Vanitas continued to pet them, finding the repetitive action soothing. 

 

Distantly, the dark haired boy became aware of a loud rumbling noise, like the engine of a gummi ship. With a start, he realized it was coming from the cats. 

 

When Madame Adelaide left to go finish the tea after she completed her story, Vanitas leaned over, “Why do the cats sound like gummiships?... Will they fly?”

 

The Replica chuckled, “No... hehe... no. They’re just purring. They feel comfortable and like that you are petting them, so they’ll start to purr.” He offered a grin, “Feels nice right?”

 

Frowning, Vanitas focused on how the kittens felt as they were purring. It was a vibration, but not like the irritable one the Floods give off. This was just a rumble of contentment. 

 

_ It’s kind of... relaxing... _

 

Soon, Madame Adelaide returned with the tea, and Vanitas sipped from his cup quietly, listening as the Replica took the opportunity to ask the Madame what all she would need done the following day. Without even realizing it, Vanitas drifted off, the day catching up to him and the sound of the purring coming from the cats relaxing him into a doze. 

 

He startled awake when he heard a mobile ringing, the sound echoing through his dreams. “Huh, what?!” He realized that his tea had gone cold. 

 

“Yeah... don’t worry, we’ll be back in a bit. We’re just finishing up here...” the Replica said quietly into the phone. 

 

Vanitas huffed and looked down at his lap. At some point Marie moved, and now all three kittens were now curled up there, and he ran a hand down each of their backs. He then felt something move through his hair and he jerked his head away from the back of the couch, glancing back to where Duchess was looking at him indignantly and tried to paw at his face. 

 

“I think she was grooming you, Vanitas,” Madame Adelaide whispered, as the Replica finished up his phone call. “You were snoring a bit, so she may think you’re some sort of large kitten.”

 

Vanitas felt his face flush again, but he couldn’t help but let out a little grin at the idea. He probably would pass for a large angry kitten if it wasn’t for the whole Unversed thing. 

 

The Replica hung up his mobile, “Right... we gotta go. Riku wants to get back to the tower soon and said that if we’re not on the gummiship he’s leaving us behind.”

 

“Sora wouldn’t let him...” Vanitas observed, but he did start moving the kittens off his lap. Two of them woke as soon as he sat them down on the couch, but Toulouse continued to sleep. Then he stood, wincing as the tried ice cream stuck to the couch a little bit. “Shit...I mean...” He trailed off, not sure what to say. 

 

“It’s fine dear...” Madame Adelaide waved his concern away, “I’m just glad you were able to find some comfort in my little darlings.”

 

“Yeah...” It had been nice to pet something that seemed to trust him without reservations. 

 

“Thank you for letting us stay for tea, Madame!” the Replica bowed a little and Vanitas hurried to follow suit. She laughed and waved them off. 

 

They hurried through the streets, just barely dodging the splash caused by a passing trolley. Soon Vanitas found himself were back at Huey, Dewey, and Louie’s Ice Cream shop. 

 

The darker haired boy flushed with embarrassment, and he felt another Mandrake vibrating beneath his skin. But then he remembered the rumbling from the kittens and he didn’t feel as anxious. He stepped up to where the three ducks were cleaning up the outside area. 

 

“I’m sorry,” he bowed a little, “Sorry for just... leaving. I just...”

 

“Aww. We understand, Vanitas!” Dewey said, grinning up at the darker haired boy. “We figured you might be having a bad day.”

 

“Yeah! We all get those...” Louie added. 

 

“Especially Uncle Donald!” Huey finished. 

 

“We’ll just have to try again tomorrow...” Dewey nodded, “What do you say?” he offered out a hand. 

 

Vanitas blinked at it in disbelief. They were gonna give him another chance? “Uh... yeah! Great!” He shook the ducks hand. 

 

With that agreed, they then hurried to the alleyway next door, finding Riku and Sora waiting by the Highwind Gummiship. 

 

Though...it looks like they got a bit distracted...

 

The Replica cleared his throat, and Riku broke away from Sora at the sound, his hands unwrapping from around Sora’s waist and his face looking a little redder than usual. 

 

Sora’s face was flushed as well, and he tried to regain his breath, leaning against the gummiship. 

 

“So...” Riku coughed, still looking a little red. “Enjoy your time in Twilight Town?”

 

“Not as much as you and Sora did...” The Replica muttered. 

 

Sora burst into chuckles, and he finally seemed to compose himself, grinning and turning to Vanitas. 

 

“Feel better?” Sora asked in concern. 

 

Vanitas nodded, “Yeah... I just... Not a good day...” 

 

“We get that...” Sora said, his grin blinding. “And I’m sure with the Unversed, it can be a little harder than most...”

 

“Yeah...” Vanitas mumbled. Then he brightened when he thought of the cats. “But the cats helped. The Rep.. uh...” he turned back to the Replica, realizing that while he called the boy ‘the Replica’ in his head, that might not be the boy’s actual name. 

 

“The Replica is fine...” the younger white haired boy said, looking at the ground. “Still trying to figure all that out...” 

 

“You’ll get there...” Riku said, laying a hand on his younger twin’s shoulder. 

 

Together, the four of them climbed into the gummiship. Kairi and Ven had gone back with Lea earlier. 

 

They were about half way home before Vanitas spoke up, “Do you think Yen Sid will let me raise a kitten?”

 

Sora laughed while Riku mumbled something about Master Yen Sid  _ having _ kittens (which Vanitas thought was some sort of joke, as he had never seen the Master with a kitten). But it didn’t sound like a no. So Vanitas held on to that. 

 

If not, he could just summon a Flood to pet. 

 

He glanced over to where the Replica was staring out the window, a small smile on his face. 

 

Or maybe Vanitas just had to spend more time with his new friend.

**Author's Note:**

> Madame Adelaide, Duchess, O'Malley, and the kittens are all from The Aristocats. I'm kinda hoping they'll make some sort of cameo appearance in KH3.... 
> 
> I hope I made Vanitas's day awful enough. I kept going easy on him an then being like "No... how can this go worse??" and then bam! Unversed keep popping out. I think that if Vanitas really was trying to turn over a new leaf, he'd be embarrassed by the unversed (some could theorize that he already _is_ ) but some of them are just too cute... like... I wanna hug them. And the whole "based on emotions" thing is so sad. When you look at some of the more "basic" unversed, they all remind me of the emotions of a three year old. Floods - Irritation, things not going their way so they just want to escape. Mandrakes - Embaressment and Anxiety, keeping people away, Bruisers - Litterally jumping up and down, can we say tantrum? Hairaiser - Literally fear. The big tank ones remind me of when a person is "full of hot air." 
> 
> I know I've said this before but: Vanitas has the emotion range of a three year old trapped in a 16 year old body and was mentally and physically abused for much of his "early life" (Post Ven Separation). There's just something sad about that situation that I want to fix. So I keep doing so in fic, and hope the powers that be will do so in KH3. 
> 
> But the kitties help and I hope Yen Sid will let Vanitas have a cat as a reward for good behavior.
> 
> EDIT 1/2019: This is now part of a series! (Because apparently no fic I write can ever truely be a standalone fic...) This is now the second story in the series.


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